Introduction
We live in an integrated society where various elements color our view and understanding of what goes on around us. As such, we each have different opinions and outlooks on life that to some extent define who we are. One of the factors that lead to our holding of certain opinions is our beliefs which may be a result of our upbringings, educational background, or our varied interests in life. It is some of these beliefs that at times dictate our perceptions in life, the relationships we maintain with others, or even the kind of decisions we make in our lives.
My Beliefs
In my life, four major beliefs particularly stand out. I believe that the family set up comprising of a father, mother and children is a most important institute for the society and its continuity should therefore be protected at all costs. I believe that the media is an important facet of civilization and its freedom is vital for the survival of a free and democratically governed society. I believe that it is the moral and social obligation of the government to work towards decreasing the income inequality that exists between the rich and the poor in society. I believe that religion is a deeply personal choice and as such, it should not lead to animosity amongst people nor should anyone be victimized for belonging to or not belonging to a certain religion. In this paper, I shall set out to give a detailed discussion of what I feel have been the major influences on my forming of these opinions. I shall review how my upbringing and education may have played a role in the formation and reinforcing of these opinions that I hold.
My first belief which relates to the significance of the family set up is mostly a result of my own experiences with my family. While I was born in Los Angeles, I was brought up in China surrounded by my parents and other siblings. It is here that I witnessed firsthand the importance of the family which not only provided for my basic needs but also acted as a source of inspiration and moral support wherever I needed it. Throughout my life, my family has been close-knit and in my opinion, this has had a positive impact on all the members of the family as we were growing up. The concern that my parents exhibited in my progress at school and in any project that I undertook had a positive bearing on how I performed and in most times, it acted as a major motivating factor. My relationship with other members of the society was also from my younger years governed by my upbringing for it was through my parents that I learned social etiquettes such as being polite and courteous to others. It is for these reasons that I have come to appreciate the fact that the family is an important institute in my life. While some people do tend to regard the family set up as a traditional notion that plays a trivial role in modern times, my experiences highlight to me that the family is as important an institute as it was in the early years.
About the media, my unwavering belief in the importance of free media comes from my significant knowledge of what a muffled and restricted media results in. The media to me represents one of the most powerful agents for change and the betterment of society. Its role as the society’s eyes; indeed a “watchdog” constantly monitoring and critiquing the actions of those in authority for the betterment of society are some of the attributes that personify the media in my mind’s eye. Again, this belief is largely from my differing experiences as I was growing up in China, and now that I am back living and studying in the United States. From my experience in China, the media was to a large extent controlled by the government and the reliability of most of the information on matters of interest was mostly questionable due to the government’s censorship. On the other hand, the American media is characterized by openness and lack of government control, therefore, leading to reliability and indiscrimination as can be observed by the media reports of scandals by government officials, prominent figures, and nondescript characters alike. As such, I have come to hold a strong opinion that free media points to a free and democratic society as can be demonstrated by the American and Chinese media environments. It is from this perspective that I view free media as being paramount to a free society.
The world is rife with inequality especially from an economic point of view. The gap that exists between the rich and the poor in most nations is immense. This status quo mostly results in anger and resentment between the two groups due to the great economic divide. Having my major as economics in college, I have had the opportunity to study various world economies and from the knowledge obtained from my studies, I can affirm that the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing with time. From my studies, it has been suggested that economic inequality is positively related to social vices such as homicide and racism and inevitably fosters social instability. It is from these facts that I conceive my opinion that only by reducing this inequality can the government brings about stability and prosperity for the majority of its citizens.
Religion has been one of the major stumbling blocks in our modern world. Every other day, reports of countless cases of violence and injustices perpetrated in the name of religion are presented to us through the media. While I do not have any deeply entrenched religious beliefs, it is my opinion that religion should be a unifying factor for humanity and not a major rift among the people as is currently the case. The religion which I can most relate to is Buddhism, which has been practiced by members of my family for generations. Despite my family being Buddhists, they always maintained amicable relations with other members of society who practiced different religions and I cannot remember an instance in my life where religion was a source of conflict between my family and others. It is therefore from this background that I have formed the opinion that religion is a deeply personal and private matter which should never be the cause of discontentment amongst people.
Conclusion
In this paper, I have discussed some of my major beliefs in life and the various influences that have led to me holding these beliefs. Most of my opinions are a result of the various realities in my upbringing. Some of these beliefs, for example, my opinion on income inequality, are a result of the knowledge that I have acquired in college. Undoubtedly, some of these opinions are unique to me and may not necessarily be embraced by my peers or other members of society. However, these opinions are of great significance to me and in some cases, they dictate how I relate with others in society or react to some issues. It is also my opinion that these beliefs make me a better member of society.